Asura in Arknights

"What? The child has finally woken up? That's wonderful... wonderful."

Professor Valcke paused for a moment, then slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

During this time, Professor Valcke was the most worried about Liu Yi's health. Even with his granddaughter by his side, Professor Valcke would still go upstairs from time to time to see if she had woken up.

Although their relationship was fictional when they were in Sagazaki City, the emotions they invested were genuine.

Perhaps keeping her clothes at first was just for show, but Professor Valcke's care for her truly filled the void in her heart that had been missing for countless years. And Professor Valcke... perhaps it was because his guilt towards Sarah had always been hidden in his heart? Even the rewriting of his memories could not erase this guilt from his heart.

Professor Valcke was genuinely happy to hear the news that Liu Yi had regained consciousness.

A large group of people then squeezed into the room, startling Shuiyue.

"Why are there so many people here?"

"With such a loud commotion, of course I had to come and see what was going on... So what happened?" Li Ang asked.

"See for yourself. She suddenly woke up just now and didn't give me a chance to explain before she just came right at me."

Shuiyue pointed to the large hole in the wall and complained, "Speaking of which, I'm not going to have to pay for this, am I?"

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chapter Five

"Even if you were asked to pay compensation, you couldn't afford it, could you?"

Shuiyue chuckled, scratched her head, and tried to brush it off.

His entire outfit probably cost less than 100 Kasimir coins. Even if it really was Shuiyue's fault, Li Ang didn't intend to make him pay compensation.

Moreover, the damage caused by the two of them was not serious. Although the large hole looked scary, it could be repaired in a few minutes by any construction team with a civil engineer, without damaging the historical value of the manor.

As for that oil painting that looks quite valuable...

If others knew that Shuiyue was actually worried about this, a certain unnamed office worker would probably burst into laughter.

He had already sold off everything movable and valuable in the manor, so why would they want to ruin it?

You could find a random antique street and buy a whole cartload of those fakes for just one gold coin. They're not even worth as much as the doodles Xi casually drew. After all, she was a great painter who left a lot of marks on the history of Yan Kingdom.

Well, you could say that apart from the manor itself, there's absolutely nothing of value left here.

After confirming that the room's structure was still stable and there was no risk of collapse, Li Ang went to the bedside to check on Liu Yi's condition.

Most problems in the world can be solved with enough money. After leaving behind enough gold coins, Li Ang had the room converted into an intensive care unit and hired some medical staff.

Anyway, there are quite a few knights living in the manor, and injuries are inevitable during matches. So, once Liu Yi wakes up, this place won't be a waste.

Liu Yi, lying on the hospital bed, stared wide-eyed at the ceiling, her gaze vacant.

Li Ang gently patted Liu Yi's cheek, leaned down, and whispered in her ear, "Hey, wake up, can you hear me?"

However, Liuyi did not react to his actions.

"It seems he has lost consciousness..."

Touching his chin, Li Ang roughly guessed Liu Yi's current situation.

When the spell was used while the body was extremely weak, the consciousness could not withstand the backlash from the spell and the person lost consciousness very quickly.

However, it's probably similar to being hit on the head with a blunt object; it won't take long to recover.

So... should we try pinching her again to see if we can wake her up?

Seemingly sensing Li Ang's ill intentions, Adele nudged his waist and gave him a reproachful glare.

Scratching his head sheepishly, Li Ang pretended nothing had happened and quietly took two steps back.

About ten minutes later, Liu Yi slowly woke up surrounded by the crowd.

"you……"

As soon as Liu Yi opened her eyes, she saw a large group of people surrounding her.

After spotting a few familiar faces in the crowd, Liu Yi felt temporarily relieved.

However, the scene she witnessed before losing consciousness continued to warn Liu Yi. It's no wonder she couldn't forget Shui Yue. Being hunted for months would leave an indelible psychological scar on anyone.

"Watch out for that monster... it's still here."

Liu Yi struggled to get out of bed, but before she could even sit up, Adele pushed her back down.

"This is safe. Your body hasn't fully recovered yet, so you need to continue resting for a while."

"The monster you mentioned... do you mean Shuiyue? It's a bit complicated, but he's not our enemy right now, so don't worry."

Shuiyue had gone from being their mortal enemy to becoming their ally. The events of the past month or so were too complicated to explain in just a few words. Adele could only comfort Liuyi for now, hoping she would calm down before slowly explaining things to her.

Are you calling me?

Upon hearing Adele call his name, Mizuki's head popped out from behind the crowd.

Seeing Shuiyue swagger into front of him, Liuyi found it hard to describe his feelings at that moment.

"...Are you all crazy? This monster was just eating people!"

"what?"

Upon hearing "Liu Yi," not only the surrounding onlookers but even Shuiyue herself was stunned, pointing at herself with a surprised expression, "Are you sure you're talking about me?"

"Hey miss, you must have got something wrong. I don't have a penchant for eating people."

Although Shuiyue was transformed into Haisi, he still retained his human perception. To him, humans were half of his kind, and he had no desire to eat his own kind.

"Oh, you don't mean that, do you?"

Shuiyue seemed to realize something, and as if by magic, she pulled out a huge piece of roasted meat from somewhere using her appendages.

"This is roasted feathered beast meat. I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty good at grilling meat. After all, I worked at a barbecue restaurant for a while. Speaking of which... would you like some?"

As she spoke, Shuiyue stuffed the large piece of roasted meat into her mouth and began to chew it with a smacking sound, just like the sounds Liuyi had heard before.

If you exclude the terrifying memories in his mind and the several appendages on his back, Shuiyue now looks like an ordinary boy.

"You, you, you...your face..."

Liu Yi pointed to the large, bright red marks on Shuiyue's face and spoke somewhat incoherently.

"This is my secret chili sauce. I begged the boss for a long time before he finally told me the recipe," Shuiyue said proudly.

While in Sagazaki, Suigetsu hid in the mountains and relied on fishing to replenish her strength.

Later, when he could no longer hold on, he infected some of the fish, which led to the subsequent series of events.

Thinking about it carefully, the tragedies that happened in the city were caused by the monsters he infected, and had no direct connection with Shuiyue herself.

Shuiyue simply wanted to leave this world; she didn't do those things.

After a period of calm, Liu Yi's mind gradually cleared up, and she finally realized what she had just done.

“…Ugh.”

Liu Yi couldn't help but cover her face and let out a mournful cry.

A large blush instantly spread across the girl's cheeks.

Hearing Liu Yi make that sound, Adele, who was standing nearby, was startled and quickly asked,

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"How embarrassing..."

Having witnessed such a farce unfold in front of so many people, Liu Yi felt utterly ashamed and unable to face anyone.

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Chapter Six: Let's Go on a Date

In short, this was a farce caused by a misunderstanding.

Realizing her mistake, Liu Yi blushed deeply.

Under the watchful eyes of so many people, she could no longer maintain her composure and immediately pulled the blanket over herself.

Seeing this, Professor Valcke, who was very protective of his son, sent all the irrelevant people out, leaving Liu Yi alone in the room to rest.

However, just a few minutes later, Shuiyue, the culprit, quietly slipped back.

At this moment, Liu Yi had already crawled out of bed and was sitting quietly on the hospital bed, regaining her usual composure.

However, when Liuyi saw Shuiyue return, she still subconsciously shuddered.

"What...what do you want to do?"

"Let's check on you." Shuiyue said in a relaxed tone.

"I don't need your concern. Besides... isn't all of this your fault?"

Seeing that Shuiyue seemed to be able to communicate, Liuyi gradually calmed down.

"So, if you had just let me go back then, none of this would have happened?"

Using her limbs to tie herself to the edge of the large hole, Shuiyue hung upside down from there, swaying in mid-air as she said, "I just accidentally wandered in, is this how you treat unlucky souls who accidentally wander in?"

If the Great God had not imprisoned Shuiyue there, but instead let him leave, none of what followed would have happened.

Perhaps, the two men, Li Ang and his companion, who later broke into Sagazaki City, will become her enemies.

After all, Liu Yi's duty was to maintain order in that world. If it weren't for Shui Yue's unexpected intervention that forced her into a corner, she would most likely have secretly hindered Li Ang's actions.

"If we let such a dangerous being as you leave so easily, who knows how many disasters it will cause?" Liu Yi gave Shui Yue a deep look.

No matter how well-behaved Suigetsu is now, Ryui can't forget the apocalyptic scene in Sagazaki City before time rewinds.

The fact that he could destroy a city under the control of a 'god' implies that he could do the same thing in the outside world; he is undoubtedly a source of calamity.

"But... I have absolutely no intention of doing that kind of thing."

Shuiyue said with great distress that no matter how he explained, Liuyi didn't seem to believe him.

Perhaps this is the meaning of "a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime."

……

Meanwhile, after being kicked out of the ward by Professor Valcke, Leon and Adele also talked about the changes that had occurred in Liu Yi.

"Li Ang... don't you think Liu Yi-chan has become a bit more lively than before?"

"It seems that's indeed the case."

Recalling Liu Yi's past behavior, Li Ang nodded thoughtfully, "Perhaps it's because the power of the Great God has faded?"

Perhaps because he cared too much about Rui, Professor Valcke failed to notice this change... No, it should be said that in the professor's mind, Rui had always been the same, and had never changed.

Only Leon and Adele had ever come into contact with Liu Yi in that state... she was as empty as a soulless doll.

Liu Yi was just an ordinary girl, fundamentally different from inhuman beings like Nian.

Her life was forcibly frozen at the moment she was offered as a sacrifice to the gods.

As the only priestess of the god, Rui lived alone in that shrine on the side of the world, where she spent countless days and nights, maintaining the stability of that world day after day for the first six months.

If the Great God hadn't left her some form of protection, Li Ang couldn't imagine how she had managed to hold on for so long.

Now that the power of the Great God has faded, the time that had been frozen on Liu Yi's body has resumed its flow.

Observing Shuiyue and her interaction through his senses, Li Ang slowly exhaled and said.

"This is a good thing."

“Yes…that’s a good thing,” Adele softly echoed Li Ang.

Amidst the crisp chirping of cicadas, a gentle breeze drifted in through the open window, bringing a touch of coolness to the two of them.

Everything was telling them one thing: summer had arrived.

They escaped Letania at the end of last autumn, which, if you calculate the time carefully, is only a little over half a year.

But for the two of them, it felt like several years had passed, and every day was incredibly fulfilling.

Looking down at the serene profile of the girl beside him, an idea suddenly popped into Li Ang's mind.

So he gently took the girl's arm.

Adele leaned against Leon and asked, slightly puzzled, "What's wrong?"

"I was thinking... the weather's so nice today, and we don't have anything to do, so why don't we..."